Asthma put the Modesto boy in a hospital for five days in January and five days again in May.

‘They’ve got him on so much medication, it’s ridiculous,’ said his mother, Sharon Karle. She’s got asthma too, though not as bad.

When a school nurse talked about a free camp for asthma patients and their families in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, Sharon and her husband, Scott, excitedly filled out an application. In October, they and their four children loaded up the family car for a memorable weekend in Yosemite National Park.

As parents stuff their brains with information on asthma triggers, new medication and legislative updates, kids — under the watchful eye of medically trained staff — shoot arrows and scamper up rock walls and across rope bridges.

‘It’s hard for my son to have fun,’ Sharon said. ‘At Yosemite Ridge, your kids have fun while you learn a lot.’

Other activities include basketball, nature walks, a variety show and visits to an Indian village. And Dina Guntensperger helps campers make autumn scrapbooks with photographs to help them remember asthma camp.”

Yosemite Ridge at Camp Wawona is a nonprofit residential summer camp inside Yosemite National Park in Wawona, California where children with life threatening diseases can go to camp and just be kids. Children between the ages of nine and fifteen can attend FREE OF CHARGE. If you’re interested in Yosemite Ridge at Camp Wawona please check out their website at www.yosemiteridge.org.

Yosemite Ridge also has a wish list of things you can send to help (e.g., gift cards, etc.) or you can make a donation to help keep this great program open.

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